The Digital Fix: Television

The Good Place: 3.04 Jeremy Bearimy

The cat is out of the bag as Michael and Janet are caught with their door open. After a series of panicked lies, they eventually come clean and admit everything to the humans. This leads to some interesting reactions.

First, there is Eleanor. She reacts predictably, by pushing everyone away and going back to looking out for herself. But this doesn't last long. After finding a wallet on the floor of a bar, she goes above and beyond to find the owner. This part of the episode, whilst not very surprising, was heartwarming. Eleanor has always been the most invested in being a better person, but also the most reluctant to admit it or let it show. So seeing her put what she has learnt into action, even when she knows she's doomed, shows real character progression. Which is good. This show can only reset its characters' moral compasses so many times before it gets boring.

Meanwhile, Tahani is frantically trying to get rid of as much of her money to charitable causes as possible. I loved how self-aware she was in this section, straight away working out that it was her desire for validation from others that was the reason she went to The Bad Place. This again shows how the humans have grown in their time together. Though Tahani still doesn't really know how to help people in a practical way, nor has she fully acknowledged her privilege, she has realised her faults and is attempting to correct them.

However, my favourite reaction was Chidi's. A character who has spent his entire life trying to be as ethical as possible, has just found out that he is doomed to go to hell. Meaning that there is no point to being good, or anything really. At least, that is what he thinks at first. This foray into nihilism leads Chidi to buy a rather hilarious shirt, leading a lecture in the most erratic way possible and making a chilli that includes both M&Ms and marshmallows. Whilst somewhat saddening, this was mostly just really funny to watch. Chidi is usually such an indecisive character, that seeing him just make random decisions, all of which were far from normal, was fascinating.

It was also great to see Eleanor be the one to snap him out of his funk. Even though they are just friends now, I love how much Eleanor and Chidi care about and support each other. The fact that all of the group now have platonic relationships with each other really shows how crucial friendships can be to someone's happiness and life in general. The way that the show centres these relationships, rather than romantic ones, is really cool. So often fiction focuses on the importance of love conquering all, or a romantic relationship being more important and fulfilling that anything else. But The Good Place doesn't fall into that trap, and showcases all the different types of fulfilling relationship that you can have, all be it in a fantastical and absurd way.

The end of the episode sees the entire group deciding to try and help other people get into The Good Place. This wasn't the direction that I was expecting the season to take, but I'm not annoyed about it. I am excited to see how they try to help and if they succeed. But also if there is going to be intervention from the afterlife. The Judge is currently trapped, but what if they find/make another key? There are a lot of possible ways that this could go and I am happy to wait and find out.

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